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Resource-based relative value scale. Resource-based relative value scale ( RBRVS) is a schema used to determine how much money medical providers should be paid. It is partially used by Medicare in the United States and by nearly all health maintenance organizations (HMOs). RBRVS assigns procedures performed by a physician or other medical ...
Medicare is a federal health insurance program in the United States for people age 65 or older and younger people with disabilities, including those with end stage renal disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease). It was begun in 1965 under the Social Security Administration and is now administered by the Centers ...
Before RVUs were used, Medicare paid for physician services using "usual, customary and reasonable" rate-setting which led to payment variability. [2]The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 enacted a Medicare fee schedule, and as of 2010 about 7,000 distinct physician services were listed. [2]
Before the 1992 implementation of the Medicare fee schedule, physician payments were made under the "usual, customary and reasonable" payment model (a "charge-based" payment system). Physician services were largely considered to be misvalued under this system, with evaluation and management services being undervalued and procedures overvalued. [3]
Medicare Advantage ( Medicare Part C, MA) is a type of health plan offered by Medicare-approved private companies that must follow rules set by Medicare. Most Medicare Advantage Plans include drug coverage (Part D). Under Part C, Medicare pays a sponsor a fixed payment. The sponsor then pays for the health care expenses of enrollees.
Geographic Practice Cost Index is used along with Relative Value Units by Medicare to determine allowable payment amounts for medical procedures. There are multiple GPCIs: Cost of Living, Malpractice, and Practice Cost/Expense. These categories allow Medicare to adjust reimbursement rates to take into account regional and practice-specific factors.
Medicare Part D, also called the Medicare prescription drug benefit, is an optional United States federal-government program to help Medicare beneficiaries pay for self-administered prescription drugs. [ 1] Part D was enacted as part of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 and went into effect on January 1, 2006.
The Affordable Care Act ( ACA ), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ( PPACA) and colloquially as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010.